Rejuvenated and revamped U Mumba look poised to mount title charge in PKL Season 10

U Mumba brought an end to their Season 9 Pro Kabaddi campaign by finishing ninth in the standings last year and they will be aiming for much-improved performances in PKL’s 10th edition. They have retained their core set of players from the previous campaign besides adding quality players to strengthen their side ahead of the upcoming season.

The Mumboys retained some of their top performers from last year and they will hope that these prospects can shine in Season 10. Surinder Singh, Jai Bhagwan, Rinku and Heidarali Ekrami are the four players who were retained from the Elite Retained Players (ERP) category whereas Shivam was the only player to be retained from the Retained Young Players (RYP) category.

The Season 2 champions also retained four players from the Existing New Young Players category to keep hold of Shivansh Thakur, Pranay Rane, Rupesh and Sachin. U Mumba then exercised their Final Bid Match (FBM) card once at the Season 10 Player Auction to retain the services of their top raider from last year, Guman Singh.

Young Brigade in Offence

Guman Singh will have the responsibility of leading the raiding unit for U Mumba once again this season. He was the top scorer for U Mumba in PKL Season 9, scoring 137 raid points, including five Super Raids and seven Super 10s. Guman will be supported by two promising young raiders in Jai Bhagwan and Heidarali Ekrami. Playing their first PKL season last year Jai (75 raid points) and Heidarali (32 raid points) showed potential with some solid displays in Season 9.

Shivam and Pranay Rane also gave us a taste of their potential last season, resulting in their retention in the team. Shivam managed nine raid points, while Pranay Rane scored 25 raid points in Season 9 but they will be looking to make bigger contributions in attack in the upcoming campaign.

Defensive Pillars

As far as their tacklers go, Girish Ernak, Mahender Singh, Surinder Singh and Rinku are the experienced heads in U Mumba’s defence. Girish is the most experienced defender in the U Mumba squad and has amassed 359 tackle points, making him the fourth highest-scoring defender in PKL history. He will be backed in defence by Rinku who was the top defender for the Mumboys last year with 59 tackle points. 

Meanwhile, for the covers position, Mahender Singh and Surinder Singh will be entrusted to take charge. Mahender Singh has scored 264 tackle points in 110 PKL matches so far and he can prove to be vital for the Mumboys in the upcoming campaign. Surinder Singh, on the other hand, has amassed 240 tackle points in PKL so far and will also have a big role to play with his robust tackling. 

Furthermore, U Mumba also roped in promising all-rounder, Amirmohammad Zafardanesh for Season 10. The Iranian showed glimpses of his potential in the Asian Games and will be hoping to demonstrate his ability in U Mumba’s colours in the season ahead. 

In the coaching setup U Mumba have got Gholamreza Mazandarani, Jeeva Kumar and K C Suthar as part of their setup. Equipped with a balanced squad and good coaching staff, U Mumba look poised for a good PKL campaign this time around as they bid for another shot at the Pro Kabaddi title.